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New HDMI Mode Will Allow USB-C Connections (techhive.com)
An anonymous Slashdot reader quotes a report from TechHive:
On Friday, HDMI Licensing announced a new cable standard that connects USB-C and HDMI devices... The idea, naturally enough, is to to develop an HDMI-to-USB Type-C cable that ties together the most common cabling protocols in both the PC and consumer electronics industries, eliminating the need for an adapter or special silicon. Source devices like PCs, tablets, and smartphones will be able to output HDMI video and multi-channel audio from a USB-C port, just as they can now with DisplayPort.
"The USB Type-C connector is gaining traction in the mobile and PC markets," said HDMI Licensing, LLC president Rob Tobias. "Consumers expect to easily connect these devices to displays with a USB Type-C to HDMI cable and utilize the capabilities and features of native HDMI. This specification will also result in more source devices incorporating HDMI," which already total about 6 billion, he said.
HDMI Licensing expects to see products launching with this new technology "early next year".
"The USB Type-C connector is gaining traction in the mobile and PC markets," said HDMI Licensing, LLC president Rob Tobias. "Consumers expect to easily connect these devices to displays with a USB Type-C to HDMI cable and utilize the capabilities and features of native HDMI. This specification will also result in more source devices incorporating HDMI," which already total about 6 billion, he said.
HDMI Licensing expects to see products launching with this new technology "early next year".
It will take off because the cost of this will be born by the cable buyer instead of the laptop or computer vendor.
Meanwhile HDMI 1.4 remains the best option to connect rec.709 monitors (eg TN and IPS displays at 1920x1200) while Displayport is the only option to connect 4K and 5K monitors with rec.2020 colorspace (which no monitor supports yet.)
It will be a while before it happens, but what this means is that all motherboards will only have USB-C connectors on them. If you want to connect USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 devices, you will need a USB hub that connects into a USB-C 3.1 port.
No the point is to collect HDMI licensing fees.
Precisely. It's rare to see HDMI on anything new, at least in my experience. They already collected their fee on the devices they've sold that included the port. They will collect in the future on anyone that buys an adapter that wants to preserve compatibility with these older devices, assuming that it's not replaced too.
I see this as an attempt to hang on a bit longer to collect their fees. They are hoping that people will seek this capability out in order to maximize backward compatibility and/or manufacturers will be willing to pay the fee so as to add another feature to their device in order to grab a few more buyers that are checklist shoppers.
The only problem this solves is the diminishing income they have from fewer new devices with HDMI ports.
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